by Eve Newton
“I should go,” she says and without waiting for a farewell, she Teleports off.
“I have to get out of here,” Constantine says and he, too, Teleports off.
“And then there were three,” Xane says, lighting a cigarette.
“I need to feed,” Cole says to himself, but Devon is at his side instantly. He meant he would go and get a bottle of blood, but his mouth starts to water at the thought of tasting Devon again, to be reminded of Liv.
“Let’s go upstairs,” Devon says and Cole nods.
Xane watches them go with a raised eyebrow. He seriously does not get this Vampire thing. Are they that sex-crazed that anything to get their rocks off will do? Xane has never been with another man and he knows he will never be that desperate. Not even now, when he could really do with a shag. It doesn’t even have to be a good one, just a soft, warm release. The bond punches him in the stomach and he recoils from that thought and goes back to his brooding.
Chapter 3
The Dragon Realms, Date Unknown - Liv
I peer out of the window at the horrifying scene some hundred feet below me. Some poor fool is being put to death and I am pretty sure they put me in this room for a very good reason: try to escape and it will be me being pushed against my will into the moat of Dragon Fire. I turn away, feeling slightly ill, and run my hand over my round stomach. I can’t say for sure how long I have been here, but it isn’t that long in Dragon Realm days. However, I dread to think how many Earth days I have been missing from my family. I turn as the door opens and my breakfast arrives. I smile as I am ravenous.
“Good morning,” Remiel says to me with a smile. He is carrying a tray of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, with a glass of orange juice. Who knew you could get regular food here?
“Hi,” I say softly. He drops the tray gently on the bed and then hurries over to help me. He takes me under the elbow, and I lean on him ever so slightly. I am huge. This baby has grown to practically full size in the few short days I have been here. It makes me slow, lazy, and very, very hungry. Remiel helps me into bed and I smile my thanks. He places the little-legged tray over my lap and tucks it gently against my bump.
“How do you feel today?” he asks, eyes fixed firmly on my belly.
“Okay, I guess,” I say. He takes his hand and lovingly strokes me. I let him and he keeps his hand there until I push it away to get to my food. He chuckles at me and once again ensures the tray is tucked up neatly against me. I take the single black rose in the vase he has brought for me and I sniff it before leaning over awkwardly to place it on the bedside cabinet.
“She’s getting so big,” he comments, and I can see him wanting to touch me again. I pat the bed next to me, and he scrambles up quickly to lie next to me with his hand resting lightly on me.
“How can you be so sure it’s a she?” I ask with a sidelong glance.
“Of course, it’s a girl,” he scoffs. “She was created to be just that.”
“If you say so,” I say and start to shovel food into my mouth at a rapid rate. I have no shame. I am the size of a small house anyway so I might as well eat like it. The breakfast is soon polished off and Remiel moves the tray to the floor. I lie back, fully replete, and close my eyes.
“Do you want to rest?” he asks me.
I shake my head, now is my chance. You might think I have lost my mind or given in to Stockholm syndrome, but no, this Vampire-slash-Dragon-slash-Faerie has a plan. “Can you take me for a walk?” I ask quietly. “I am restless, and I need to walk somewhere other than this room.”
He frowns at me as I knew he would. He is weighing up whether he can trust me. “Tiamat said,” he starts, but I put my hand over his and interrupt him.
“Tiamat has dampened my Powers. I can’t get out of here without assistance and to be honest I’m not sure I want to. I am a little afraid of what happens next,” I say with a slight waver to my voice. I am over-the-top pissed that my mother cast a spell on me. I still have my Powers; V.A. isn’t bound, She is just out of commission for a while. They clearly didn’t trust me not to stay here and with good reason. Had I been able to, I would have left the second I got here.
“Oh, Aefre,” he says. “You have no need to be afraid. I will be here for you and our baby. I will make sure you are completely unharmed.”
“I know. I trust you,” I say with a slow, sexy yet shy smile.
It has the desired effect and he says, “Come then, I will take you for a short walk.”
I almost leap out of bed, well, I would have, had it been possible. As it is, I climb my hefty person out of bed as he helps me. He opens the door and Aida is standing in her usual post and stops us from leaving. Remiel mutters to her in Dragon and she looks less than happy but doesn’t defy him when he leads me out of the room. Christ. He has more power here than I thought. I knew Tiamat was keeping him here having decided all was forgiven once I had resurrected him, but I didn’t know he was the almighty. I guess his own Chosen status holds more weight than my own. He quietly walks me down the stairs and we head down a long corridor at a slow pace. I take in everything as we walk past. I was Astralled straight into the room with the view from Hell from my bathroom at home and I haven’t left since. I need to know how to get out of here when the time comes for me to make my escape. I don’t want to be wandering around the halls of this enormous palace looking for a way out. Especially with a baby in my arms. Even if my mother gives me my Powers back, there is only one place those of us who aren’t Tiamat or Remiel can Astral from and I need to find it. Yep, seems even now I am lower on the food chain than I was led to believe.
“How long have I been here?” I ask him.
“Four days,” he says to my utmost surprise. Seems like longer than that, especially considering my size. My brain quickly does the math and I gulp, realizing that I have been gone over five months in Earth time. I have no idea how to process that. Although, now that I think about it, if my body is still working on Earth time, it figures I would be so huge now as that much time has passed. Man, this time shift really is a bitch to keep up with.
“Oh,” I say and run a hand over my stomach.
He sees me and says, “Yes, it has been quite the surprise how quickly this has progressed once you got here. We had no idea that in just a few short days you would get so…” He holds his hands out and I narrow my eyes at him.
“Be very careful where you go with that,” I warn him, and he laughs. He has a really nice laugh and it makes me giggle in return.
“Beautiful,” he finishes with a twinkle in his blue eyes that hides his growing desire. It snaps me back to my mission. I am not here to go goo-goo over him, although it is a struggle. Whatever way he has, it is strong, and I am not the only one it affects.
I preen at the compliment and I know I have him firmly on my side. For now. He won’t take it too well when I disappear with our child, but tough. I will think about that when the time comes.
“How much longer, do you think?” I ask him to keep him distracted from my darting eyes that are making short work out of figuring exactly where we are in relation to not only my room, but to the rest of the castle. Castles, in my experience, are pretty standard, and this one seems no different, except in its vast size. It is huge, bigger than Drake’s palace and that place is enormous. He is clearly leading me down a merry path on the assumption that I won’t have a clue where we are, but as we step into a corridor so high and so wide I know we are fairly close to where I can at least exit this place in Dragon form. That must mean that the launching pad is close by as well.
“I couldn’t say,” he says. “I wouldn’t have thought too much longer.”
“And then what?” I ask him, tightening my hold on him to show him I trust him and need the truth from him.
He returns the squeeze and says, “And then you will be free to leave.”
I turn to him in surprise. I had not been expecting that. There must be a catch. “Without the baby, I presume?” I ask, more than a little annoyed.
“Stay?” I croak. “I can’t do that, Remiel. I have family back home. I want to take my child and go home.” I am treading in dangerous territory here, but I can’t help myself.
He shakes his head fiercely. “No,” he says. “That is not an option, Aefre. The child stays here with me. Whether or not you decide to stay with us is up to you.”
I gulp. He is angry and I didn’t want that to happen. I need him genial, so I take his hand tightly with a fearful look on my face. “What about my family? My responsibilities?” I ask him.
“You make a sacrifice,” he says shortly, still not happy with me for ruining our happy time. “You choose: your child or your ties.”
A sacrifice. It is a huge sacrifice. How can I choose between my husbands and lovers and my child? A normal woman probably wouldn’t hesitate and would immediately choose her child, but I am not normal. My charges need me; they are suffering right now in ways I can only imagine because of my long absence from them. They will shrivel up and suddenly all I can think about is Gustav. It hitches my breath and Remiel is watching me closely.
“There is no need to decide right now,” he says suddenly. “But know that those are your only two options, Aefre.” He takes my arm, looping his through mine again and silently leading me back a different way than the way we came.
My brain scrambles to say something that will make this right. He is suspicious of me now and that won’t do. I cannot have him watching me even more closely. I open my mouth to say something placatory, but we are back at my bedroom already and Aida steps to the side to allow us in.
“Rest now,” he says to me. He helps me into bed and his hand automatically goes over my bump, but this time he hesitates. I grab his hand and place it on me, keeping mine firmly over his. I see the tense set of his shoulders relax a bit and I know my actions have reassured him. “I will check on you later,” he murmurs and pulls his hand out from underneath mine. I nod sleepily and I am out for the count before he has left the room.
A presence in the room startles me and I sit up, opening my eyes with a gasp, that turns to a rapid beating of my heart when I see who my visitor is.
“Xane?” I ask incredulously.
He turns from the window grimly, clearly having been looking at the push-off point and smiles at me.
“Hi,” he says.
“Hi,” I say, holding out my hands to him. “What on Earth are you doing here? How are you even here?”
He crosses over to me and takes my hands, kissing them both before he sits on the edge of the bed. “I have friends in high places,” he says, amused.
“Your mother,” I growl at him and he nods. I am so mad with Xanthe for allowing this to happen to me while she was supposed to be watching over me, I could kill her. I don’t know if she helped or just sat back and let Remiel seduce me during my Heat, but either way, next time I see her she has a bunch of apologizing to do.
Xane is casting his eye watchfully over me and I cringe. “Not so attractive at the moment, am I?” I ask archly.
His eyes find mine and he looks surprised. “Liv, you look beautiful,” he says.
“Hah,” I scoff. “Such a charmer. It’s okay, you can say it. I’m huge.”
“Beautiful,” he says more firmly and carefully places his hands on me.
He is the first of my lovers to see me in this manner and it suddenly makes me very nervous. I lick my lips and ask, “Does this upset you?”
He doesn’t answer for the longest time and then surprises me when he shakes his head. “No,” he says. “This is meant to be, clearly. It doesn’t mean it will be the only child you have.”
“Oh,” I say softly. He sounds so serious.
“Liv,” he says suddenly, looking back into my eyes. “I can take you from here,” he adds quietly. “We can leave right now and never look back. Just the two of us. Three of us,” he amends. “I will love this child, as I love you, as mine.”
“What?” I ask, struggling to sit up straighter. “What are you saying?” I whisper in panic. If anyone overheard him, we would both be extra crispy outside in the moat.
“They won’t let you take the baby, Liv. You know that. If we left now…” He trails off as I shake my head.
“No,” I say. “No, Xane. I can’t do that.”
“Why not?” he asks earnestly. “Do you plan to stay here with him?” he challenges me.
“I don’t know,” I say cautiously. Something doesn’t add up here and I need to be very careful with what I say next. “I haven’t decided what to do once the baby is born. But she will be born here.”
Xane’s eyes flash and I except anger from him, only I get something far, far more shocking. Remiel shimmers into view right where Xane had been sitting with a smile on his face.
A test!
I knew it. Well, I didn’t know it, but I knew something was up. I want to snarl at him for tricking me, but my ice is spread so thin after our earlier conversation I just glare at him to explain.
“I’m sorry, Aefre,” he says. “I had to know. For sure. I had to offer you a way out to see if your intentions are true.”
“I already told you I wasn’t leaving here before the baby is born,” I say, annoyed at him.
He grabs my hand and I sniff slightly, pretending to be only slightly pissed off with him. “I know,” he says quickly. “But after our difference of opinion, I had to make sure.”
“Your ultimatum, you mean. Making me sacrifice one of my lives.” The tears well up and I can go no further. I am genuinely upset over this, but his desperation at my tears makes me half laugh as he hurries to find me a tissue. Shit, this feeling of hating him and yet wanting to please him is driving me insane.
“Do you believe me now?” I ask, wiping my eyes.
“Yes,” he says. “I apologize for coming to you as your lover. I know you must miss him,” he adds sadly and lowers his eyes as I just stare at him. Compassion? Since when?
“It hurts my heart,” I say just as sadly. “I miss all of them.”
“I know,” he whispers with a wretched look, which hardens when he adds, “but I am your Chosen One. We are supposed to be together.”
I shake my head. “Cole is my Chosen One,” I say.
“No,” Remiel says forcefully. “He was Chosen in my absence. Now that I am returned, the honor is mine.”
“What?” I ask, confused. “What do you mean Chosen in your absence?” I am getting tired now and my back is aching, distracting me.
“I was, for all intents and purposes, dead, Aefre. In line with the prophecy, the next man of my blood was Chosen for you,” he explains, and my mouth drops open.
“Come again?” I whisper. “Cole is descended from you?” I go queasy and my head starts to spin.
“Not descended, no,” he says cryptically, and the intrigue focuses me again.
“What do you mean then?” I snap at him.
He chews his lip and sighs. “Oh well, I suppose there is no harm in telling you. It’s not really a secret. His father is my father,” he says, and I blink at him like a ridiculously slow owl.
“Say what?” I ask, shaking my head. “He is your brother? How is that possible?” Never mind the whole ick factor, Cole was human and twenty-eight years old when I turned him. I am one hundred percent certain of those two facts. Or am I? I start to doubt myself.
“Half-brother,” Remiel corrects me. “And it is very possible as my father is still alive and kicking and breeding left and right. He is the biggest cad,” he says in disgust.
“With Cole’s mom?” I ask with just as much disgust.
“God, no. He moved on from there as soon as the woman got pregnant. That is his way,” Remiel says.
On some gross level this is all makin
g sense, but it is still a huge discovery. I wonder how Cole will feel about this when I tell him? If I ever see him again, I think woefully.
“His name?” I ask.
“Laurentis,” Remiel says, accompanied by an eye roll.
“Oh, wow,” I say. This is just too freaky.
“Indeed,” he says haughtily. “But now do you see that I am your One, not him?”
“I suppose,” I venture cautiously. It was the right move as he beams at my “acceptance” and relaxes once more. I beam back at him, all the while my brain working overtime to process this. Jesus, it’s… there is no word for it. “But wouldn’t that actually mean your father is the One?” I add with my runaway mouth.
Fortunately, he snorts with mirth and says, “Hardly, my dear. That creature isn’t worth a penny in the power department. His gift is to pass it on.”
“Oh,” I say and then it hits me. I mean it really hits me: Cole is half Demon. “How come he never had any Demon powers?” I ask.
He frowns at me, not understanding who I mean. Clearly Cole is less than nothing to him.
“Cole,” I prompt him. “Why did he never have any powers?”
“Oh,” he says. “Same as you, my dear, humans are incapable of wielding power.”
“But then why didn’t they activate when I turned him?” I press. But sometimes I should learn to keep my trap shut.
“Enough questions!” he snaps at me and I flinch from the harshness of his tone.
I grunt suddenly in pain and put my hand to my stomach. Oh no, is this it? This feels like it. Oh gods, please don’t let this be it. I breathe in sharply and Remiel’s manner changes instantly. He places his hand on my stomach and asks, “Is this it?”
I shrug through the pain. Oh, the old gods, how come no one ever said it would hurt so much? So much for being the big, bad Vampire-slash-whatever’s, this pain is bringing me to my proverbial knees. “Get someone,” I gasp at him and hope that they have a plan, because I am fresh out of ideas on how this is going to go.
He rushes off and calls Aida. She, thankfully, nods stoically and leaves to go and get whoever is going to assist in this. I hope and pray to the old gods that it is someone capable.